


cherished things

by castielwholmes



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, pretty much everyone she loves shows up but it's not worth tagging everyone, there's a little bit of madarashi too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-12
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2019-06-09 10:16:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15265329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/castielwholmes/pseuds/castielwholmes
Summary: There are billions and billions of stories to tell in the world, but to Arashi the most important ones are stored in her photographs.





	cherished things

**Author's Note:**

> the formatting worked way better when it was in word i'm sorry if it's difficult to read

Arashi loves photographs. They’re a little bit of a memory frozen in time, so that you may go back to relive it over and over as many times as you wish. And being a model as well as a third year at Yumenosaki Academy, she’s gotten more than used to having her picture taken. Some of these are kept in a book on her nightstand, while others live on her walls or in her phone. Countless others she may never see. But every one tells a story, no matter how long ago it’s been since it was taken.

Cameras flashed, clicking and whirring as what feels like hundreds of pictures are taken from every possible angle in order to find the perfect shot. “Arashi-kun, tilt your chin down a little more! Ah, Izumi-kun, could you stop fixing Makoto-kun’s hair? He just got it done! Very good, Arashi-kun, don’t look at them, look at me.” When these three were working together, things were never easy. But the outtake photos from after Makoto had tripped over a cord and stumbled into her, Izumi two steps behind, remind her of all the laughs they had shared together.

Ever since she was little she’s had the biggest crush on her former modeling senpai and current teacher. One of her favorite memories is when she did a shoot together with him, and every shot clearly reflected the feelings she had for him. To make things even more exciting they had been asked to wear matching outfits to display a clothing brand’s wide range of sizes. She had been absolutely ecstatic. Looking back on the photos now she feels a bit embarrassed by the look on her face, knowing she must not have noticed how her clingy behavior the whole time was making him feel. But they had managed one picture that had ended up being chosen by the company, and the page ripped from a magazine with her copying his pose doesn’t often leave her desk drawer.

Despite the lack of preparation, the live had gone fairly well. Arashi could even say she had fun doing this, singing and dancing with Izumi-chan and the two others. Maybe there really is something to being an idol like this. It had been nice seeing Izumi-chan so flustered, too. What Leo-kun-san had said to him had clearly gone to his heart. But really, what was she doing with her appearance? She looked adorable but the hair, the glasses, how had she ever faced Kunugi-sensei looking like that? The picture of the four of them with their arms around each other would be adorable if she didn’t get so embarrassed at her first year self.

The mall was more crowded than it normally would be on a Wednesday afternoon, but that had only made Arashi more determined to find her planned destination. “Naru-chan, yer pulling on my arm too much!” “That’s because you’re too slow Mika-chan, come on! These are always busy!” Luckily she and her recently dubbed best friend had managed to find a vacant purikura booth without much trouble, and the resulting pictures had turned out absolutely adorable even if Mika looked confused in half of them. They’ve taken plenty more since then, each new collage on her wall marking a memory of the places she’s been and the times she’s spent with him.

Ou-sama had returned, but not without putting up a fight. None of them were sure what the future would bring for Knights. Arashi remembers disliking the gloomy atmosphere very much. She may be as worried as the rest of them, but she can’t let herself show it and keep sitting here in silence. “Alright, chin up now, we put on _such_ a good show! And Tsukasa-chan, you were the star!” The littlest Knight had looked up in surprise at her words. “A-are you sure?” “Of _course_! You went out there and made all of us proud. Right, Izumi-chan, Ritsu-chan?” She took the tired “hai” from Ritsu and the (frankly unattractive) grunt from Izumi as yeses, pulling Tsukasa into a hug before insisting on a selfie with all four of them together. She loves all her pictures with her Knights (that Ou-sama shortly found his way into), thinking that that year was the prime of her life as an idol.

Cheers echoed across the field as Mitsuru ran towards his senpai, though his feet weren’t on the ground for long before Madara picked him up to sit him on his shoulders. The gold medal glistened around their kouhai’s neck. “I did it, I did it! I worked real hard and I did it!” He had been training tirelessly the past few weeks to beat the 1500 meter record. “I couldn’t’a done it without my senpai,” he told the photographer, insisting that Arashi, Adonis, and Madara be in the picture with him. The pride on their faces while they look at the then first year makes its way to Arashi’s chest, and her heart is full.

Souma gasped. “Ah! The _sumaho kamera_ is showing us now!” Could it really be considered a class trip without plenty of selfies? They are idols after all. Though it hadn’t exactly gone smoothly, Arashi was happy to spend the time with her then second year classmates. The consecutive photos in her camera roll seem to tell a story on their own, as Subaru sneaks up behind Hokuto with a pillow in hand and hits him over the head with it as everyone turns and laughs. Everyone’s smiles are so beautiful, she always thinks, wishing for each and every one of them to be able to smile like that for their whole lives.

Shopping with Anzu-chan is one of Arashi’s favorite activities. The producer is so small and cute, she can look good in anything Arashi has her try on. Of course, that may be in part due to her impeccable taste, but she thinks it’s surely a joint effort. The two of them always need to take countless pictures together, showing off matching sunglasses they try on or ridiculous hats or coordinating outfits or their Starbucks breaks. These girls’ days out are much anticipated by both of them, no matter how often they occur, and they make sure that the pictures they took find their way to each other.

Every day since she started dating Madara has been an adventure, but there really is something special about being able to drop everything and run off with him to another country for the weekend. Over the summer he had even taken her to Disneyland in California for a few days, a place she had always dreamed of going. Naturally they had to get the matching Mickey and Minnie ears, and naturally that led to plenty of pictures being taken. Her favorite of these is framed on her desk. The way she’s looking at him makes her face grow warm, unused to seeing that much happiness in her expression. But really, with a boyfriend like this she thinks she’s going to be very familiar with those smiles.

Upon seeing her, the newly appointed Ryusei Red jumped off the stage where his unit had been practicing. “Narukami-senpai! Ossu!” He stopped in front of her, chest puffed out proudly as if to show off his new costume. “Check it out, doesn’t it look awesome?” Arashi had gushed over how big and manly her kouhai looked and insisted on taking a couple of selfies with him, which Tetora happily obliged until his small yellow unitmate called his name. “Ah crap, I gotta go. See ya later, nee-chan!” What he had called her hadn’t registered until a few moments later, and even now her heart flutters at the memory when she spots the pictures on her phone.

There are billions and billions of stories to tell in the world, but to Arashi the most important ones are stored in her photographs. The friends she treasures and the moments they’ve shared are all at her fingertips. Whether they were taken ten years or ten minutes ago, the significance is just as strong.

**Author's Note:**

> as always i'm at @PALADLKNLGHTS  
> please don't be shy, leave kudos/comments if you enjoyed this!  
> thank you for reading!


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